jmatkinson1's review against another edition
4.0
Philosopher Samuel has already suffered much, the failure of a commune project and the death of his wife plus a fiction written by his brother that casts him in a bad light. When a strange flock of red birds arrives on his property Samuel decides it is time for something new and he sets up a school designed to educate young ladies to think. In the 1870s in New England this is thought of as very progressive and even his daughter Caroline is cynical. As the students begin to fall ill with strange symptoms an old physician friend is brought in but his treatment method shocks Caroline to the core.
This is a very thought-provoking book which is shocking yet very quietly written. The back-story of the failure of the commune is hinted at darkly and the details that inspired the novel about Samuel's marriage are also shrouded yet they provide a sense of history repeating itself as the tragedy unfolds. I found this story sucked me in and the birds act as an extended metaphor throughout with their unusual behaviour, magpie tendencies and 'nesting'. This is a powerful story about women and the control of their own lives.
This is a very thought-provoking book which is shocking yet very quietly written. The back-story of the failure of the commune is hinted at darkly and the details that inspired the novel about Samuel's marriage are also shrouded yet they provide a sense of history repeating itself as the tragedy unfolds. I found this story sucked me in and the birds act as an extended metaphor throughout with their unusual behaviour, magpie tendencies and 'nesting'. This is a powerful story about women and the control of their own lives.
612daphneh_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The first thing that strikes me about this book is the struggle. I felt that even though the real action of the plot was not big or great, the emotions were so tumultuous. I became frustrated sometimes seeing how much Caroline was trapped. I always went back to think what I would have done in that situation, and how that Caroline's environment still stifles the amount of "daring" she allows herself to do.
I deeply, deeply hate Hawkins. He was basically sexually assaulting all these women patients in the name of "science". It pains me to see how many female conditions, female pain, female confusion gets undermined because they are considered the lesser gender. I agree with Eliza in saying that Samuel is perhaps worse than Hawkins. Samuel did educate Caroline in a way that she would not have elsewhere, but he also castrated her brilliance, with his disappointment and control. I am really glad where she ended up at the end of the story. While I dislike Sophia for her bimbleness, I also like her honesty. She was the first to speak out, the only to speak out, when things felt bad. Because of her ignorance, she was not restricted by expectations from Samuel. In the beginning of the story, I wished for David and Caroline to get together, but gosh, I dislike his cheating greatly, and he is not enough for her. Her story parallels Anna and Miles'.
Overall, I liked this book. I thought the trilling hearts would be the cause of all their maladies, but really, they are more of a symbol. They are meant to send a message about how females are so gaslit all the time, how history repeats itself, freedom, beauty, and omens. I fear for our own world right now, how America is becoming more and more misogynistic. I wish my voice were enough to change something, but with all these new reproductive rules... who knows what will happen?
I deeply, deeply hate Hawkins. He was basically sexually assaulting all these women patients in the name of "science". It pains me to see how many female conditions, female pain, female confusion gets undermined because they are considered the lesser gender. I agree with Eliza in saying that Samuel is perhaps worse than Hawkins. Samuel did educate Caroline in a way that she would not have elsewhere, but he also castrated her brilliance, with his disappointment and control. I am really glad where she ended up at the end of the story. While I dislike Sophia for her bimbleness, I also like her honesty. She was the first to speak out, the only to speak out, when things felt bad. Because of her ignorance, she was not restricted by expectations from Samuel. In the beginning of the story, I wished for David and Caroline to get together, but gosh, I dislike his cheating greatly, and he is not enough for her. Her story parallels Anna and Miles'.
Overall, I liked this book. I thought the trilling hearts would be the cause of all their maladies, but really, they are more of a symbol. They are meant to send a message about how females are so gaslit all the time, how history repeats itself, freedom, beauty, and omens. I fear for our own world right now, how America is becoming more and more misogynistic. I wish my voice were enough to change something, but with all these new reproductive rules... who knows what will happen?
catsandbones's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
corvidaemp's review against another edition
4.0
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Reading the back summary I really wasn't sure I was going to like this book at all. However, once I was in the thick of it I greatly enjoyed it. The feeling was very victorian and simultaneously hard to place in a timeline which make it feel uncomfortable the whole way through. The characters were well written, the plot interesting and intelligent, and it was all around a good read.
zinni05's review against another edition
3.0
"An ill girl - it isn't so unusual. Everyone knows one."
An isolated school for girls, the ominous return of birds with blood-red feathers and mass 'hysteria', The Illness Lesson deals in slow, creeping horror that leaves you feeling deeply unsettled.
Beams' debut novel offers up an exploration of what it means to be a woman in a predominantly male environment, and how sickness affects her place in this. The book exposes how women have always been disbelieved regarding illness, and is an important reminder that we must challenge biases that still exist in modern healthcare. Upon researching how hysteria was historically 'treated', I was enraged (though sadly unsurprised) to find that women actually were subjected to the harrowing methods in the book, which really intensified its horror.
I despised the protagonist, Caroline. I valued parts of her story - her mother died of a seizure, and Caroline lives in constant fear that the same fate awaits her. I'd never truly considered the burden that must come from knowing that a heritable disease runs in your bloodline. Caroline's not a glowing heroine, nor did I desire her to be, but I would have appreciated her actions being slightly less deplorable.
Much more likeable and often more interesting were the teenage girls at the school (somewhat reminiscent of 1800s Mean Girls, sans comedy), whose simultaneous burgeoning womanhood and childish innocence put them in a particularly unique, but vulnerable, position.
The first 70% was slow. There were gripping moments, but they slipped away too soon back into mundanity. Bless Eliza Pearson (the Regina George of our tale) for keeping the story alive. But my oh my, the last 30% filled me with such visceral dread that I felt quite nauseous - and I love it when a book makes me feel. You know what's coming, and you're desperately willing it not to, and there's nothing you can do. You're made to feel as powerless as the women are. The ending certainly made me feel vindicated in pushing through the slower parts; it paid off.
You're ultimately left knowing that the true sickness lies in twisted abuses of power and, of course, the patriarchy.
An isolated school for girls, the ominous return of birds with blood-red feathers and mass 'hysteria', The Illness Lesson deals in slow, creeping horror that leaves you feeling deeply unsettled.
Beams' debut novel offers up an exploration of what it means to be a woman in a predominantly male environment, and how sickness affects her place in this. The book exposes how women have always been disbelieved regarding illness, and is an important reminder that we must challenge biases that still exist in modern healthcare. Upon researching how hysteria was historically 'treated', I was enraged (though sadly unsurprised) to find that women actually were subjected to the harrowing methods in the book, which really intensified its horror.
I despised the protagonist, Caroline. I valued parts of her story - her mother died of a seizure, and Caroline lives in constant fear that the same fate awaits her. I'd never truly considered the burden that must come from knowing that a heritable disease runs in your bloodline. Caroline's not a glowing heroine, nor did I desire her to be, but I would have appreciated her actions being slightly less deplorable.
Much more likeable and often more interesting were the teenage girls at the school (somewhat reminiscent of 1800s Mean Girls, sans comedy), whose simultaneous burgeoning womanhood and childish innocence put them in a particularly unique, but vulnerable, position.
The first 70% was slow. There were gripping moments, but they slipped away too soon back into mundanity. Bless Eliza Pearson (the Regina George of our tale) for keeping the story alive. But my oh my, the last 30% filled me with such visceral dread that I felt quite nauseous - and I love it when a book makes me feel. You know what's coming, and you're desperately willing it not to, and there's nothing you can do. You're made to feel as powerless as the women are. The ending certainly made me feel vindicated in pushing through the slower parts; it paid off.
You're ultimately left knowing that the true sickness lies in twisted abuses of power and, of course, the patriarchy.
monicovka's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book, for it’s buzz of women empowerment and the beautiful cover alone. Sadly, I just didn’t care about any of the characters. At all. Additionally, the plot was surface level, only hinting at depth but never getting there. It ended and I felt that surely I must have skipped a dozen chapters of closure, but no. It was a bore.
lola425's review against another edition
3.0
Margaret Atwoodish with a dash of the Brontes. I liked Caroline, and was repulsed in all the right spots.
catriona99674's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
joy_b's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0